Halloween shouldn’t be restricted to children only. Would you like to make the most of the holiday with your grandkids? Why not make your own costumes together? As you’ll be able to see, it’s not that complicated!
Making your own Halloween costume, the ideal project for retirees!
Making any Halloween costume is a project in and of itself. If elderly people have the chance to do it with their grandkids, it becomes a team effort. From the simpler costume to the most complicated, there are steps to follow. In the eyes of youngsters who are living in the instantaneousness of the Internet and online shopping era, everything can seem fast and easy to make. They often have trouble acknowledging the work that is put into making something like a costume. Making your own is obviously more complicated than buying one, but it can be way more gratifying. As a bonus, it serves as a learning opportunity for your grandkids, big or small, to understand the value of things.
This is an activity that allows you to spend time with your loved ones. The project can even be spread over several days or weekends. Your need to:
- Find which character, costume, and accessories you want to recreate,
- Decide whether you will make it all yourself, sewing included,
- Come up with a game plan,
- Find the material you need and go get it.
It is now time to impress your grandkids with your hidden sewing skills… or leadership skills.
Which costume is best for you?
Making a Halloween costume can be an opportunity to express a part of yourself that you may not show on a daily basis, a way to show off other facets of your personality that people are not familiar with. You can showcase your interest in a movie, a specific character, or someone that makes you laugh, or you find fascinating. It is your chance to come out of your shell and become a comedian yourself by impersonating someone else. Who knows, you might bump into someone who is wearing the same costume and shares similar interests. It is an opportunity to make new acquaintances.
Children usually choose to impersonate contemporary stars or superheroes from a movie that came out the same year. Why not use Halloween as a pretense to teach them about your childhood heroes or idols? Whether it be Elvis, The Flying Nun, the band Kiss, or Audrey Hepburn, let them discover a whole universe that is most probably unknown to them. How fascinating was it as a child to discover that there was a whole world before us? Or simply to realise that movies and bands were as good back then as current ones! They will want to research these people who seemingly came out of nowhere with you, to learn about their lives, their work… and their apparel. It will all be awesome inspiration for a Halloween costume that fully represents you.
It remains to be determined whether the costume you are going for is achievable according to its complexity.
How to make a DIY Halloween costume?
It is now time to make the costumes. You have found your characters, but wonder if they are achievable or not.
If every child does not know how to sew, they are usually arts and crafts experts! And since they also love Halloween, convincing them to make their own costumes shouldn’t be an issue.
Find costume inspiration online
It goes without saying that having a sewing machine is a huge advantage. If you have not sewn in a long time, or have never sewn at all, don’t worry; there are plenty of helpful tutorials online. Have you become a master at sewing? Then you’ll be able to make anything you dream of. There are patterns for everyone readily available on the Internet. If you are not, don’t panic; even the most novice will find what they need to achieve their goal.
Upcycle your old clothes to avoid sewing
Did you know about the trend of altering your old clothes? This practice is called “upcycling”. It implies tailoring a piece of clothing to make it into a new one. With a simple pair of scissors, you can give it a whole new style. You can also cut some pieces to make accessories, or to sew them on another piece. Even simpler: just glue them on. This is a fun and sustainable way to make your Halloween costumes.
Do you have clothes that don’t fit you anymore? Cut them up into shreds and please your little aspiring zombie. A white bedsheet? Here, you just made them into a ghost. A black bedsheet? Cut a hole for the head and finish the bottom by cutting up half circles. With part of the remaining fabric, cut a bat-shaped piece and make it into a bow tie. Your grandkids now seem to have come straight out of a Batman movie. You could even cut the bedsheet into a spiderweb shape to scare off the whole neighbourhood!
Accessories and easy DIYs
Sometimes, you only need to add a single accessory to make a costume. Do you have yellow pants and a yellow shirt laying around in your wardrobe? The only missing part is green construction paper and a used-up paper towel roll. Cut the green paper into pointed strips and glue them together at the top of the roll. Fix the whole thing on a headband, and you have just transformed into a pineapple. Simple, but effective.
You can also reuse a cardboard box by removing the top and bottom and painting it if need be. Glue a bunch of tissue paper on the sides and add a string to hang the box around your neck. You are now a beautiful living birthday gift!
There is a myriad of accessories that can be made very easily:
- Make a cardboard sheet into a cone shape. Add a round edge and you now have yourself a witch’s hat.
- Find an old corn broom. Wrap black fabric around the handle and you have just made an evil broom.
- Cut a star shape out of a black cardboard sheet. Glue it on a stick, and here you have a magic wand.
Now that the costumes are done, it is show off time. Everyone is proud to have tried their hand at it. These warm moments will remain engraved in everyone’s memories. Besides, it was all economical and sustainable!
As you can see with this blog post, it is possible to make your own Halloween costumes with the whole family and make it fun. You only need a few sewing skills or a good pair of scissors, some fabric, a little paint, some glue, and that’s it! From evil hats to magic wands, your imagination is your only limitation. What will you be on the big day?
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Sources (mostly in French):
https://www.tissushop.fr/blog/tutos-coutures-tout-ce-quil-faut-pour-apprendre-a-coudre/
https://www.tissushop.fr/blog/les-tutos-couture-dHalloween/
https://www.popcouture.fr/diy-couture/Halloween/
https://lusineabulle.blogspot.com/2018/10/13-idees-de-costumes-faire-soi-meme.html
https://www.petitcitron.com/blog/10-idees-pour-coudre-des-costumes-dHalloween/
https://louise-magazine.com/tutos-deguisement-Halloween/
https://www.noovomoi.ca/vivre/famille/article.fabriquer-costume-Halloween-maison.1.1327168.html